WELCOME TO THE BRP MODIFIED TOUR

By: Pam Baker

August 6, 2021…..Marble, PA…….On a beautiful August evening Rex King, Jr. worked his way to the front of the field from his fifth starting position to capture his second BRP Modified Tour feature of 2021 on Friday night at Lernerville Speedway.

There were 27 cars registered in the pit area for the first of two events at “The Action Track”, Lernerville Speedway. Rex King, Sr. and Chad Brachmann, through the luck of the draw in front of the fans in the grandstands, brought the field to the drop of the green flag. Rex King, Sr. had the momentum going to beat Brachmann to the first turn and was able to lead the first laps before Brachmann made the pass coming off of turn two for the lead. Brachmann was only able to hold the lead for two more laps and on lap seven, King, Sr. was able to wrestle his way past Brachmann for the lead once again. On lap ten Brian Swartzlander was able to make his way into second and by this time King, Sr. was entering heavy lapped traffic. The first caution waved on lap thirteen for a spinning Jim Rasey. The field regrouped for a double file restart with King, Sr. leading the way. However; on lap fifteen Rex King, Jr. had made his way into second past Swartzlander and using the very bottom of the speedway was able to make the pass on his father coming off turn four. A caution on lap 27 would slow the pace once again as Paul Kot spun in turn four. On the restart Brian Swartzlander came to stop of the speedway, so the following single file restart found King, Jr. bringing the field down to the green and going on for the win. Following King, Jr. across the line was Garrett Krummert followed by Chad Brachmann, Eric Gabany ,who started eleventh in the field, finished fourth ahead of Dave Murdick who came from the seventeen starting position. Heats were won by Rex King, Sr., Garrett Krummert and Rex King, Jr.

Bob Oliver of Competition Carburetion presented $50 for the Fastest Lap Award which went to Brian Swartzlander. Nick Chevrolet provided $100 to Rodney Beltz for the Hard Luck Award.

Feature Finish: Rex King, Jr., Garrett Krummert, Chad Brachmann, Eric Gabany, Dave Murdick, John Mollick, Jeremiah Shingledecker, Rex King, Sr., Colton Walters, JR McGinley, Brad Rapp, Steve Feder, Steve Slater, Rick Regalski, Steve Barr, Doug Fleeger, Shawn Kozar, Kevin Long, Ryan Riffe, Mark Frankhouser, Brian Swartzlander, Paul Kot, Rodney Beltz, Jim Rasey, Kevin Green, Mike Dougherty – DNS, Rodney Beltz – DNS

By: Pam Baker

July 23, 2021…Marble, PA……….Chad Brachmann has it figured out when it comes to the BRP Modified Tour events as he captured his third feature win in a row and his fourth win out of six events on Friday night at Thunder Mountain Speedway.

There were 20 cars on hand for the sixth race of the series and through the luck of the draw in front of the fans during intermission Steve Barr and Rex King, Sr. drew the top two starting position. Bringing the field to the drop of the green flag, Barr was able to beat King, Sr. to the first turn and took command of the lead on lap one. Barr held the top spot for the first fifteen laps before the caution flag flew for Shawn Kozar who spun in turn three.

On the restart Rex King, Sr. was able to get to the first turn before Barr and took over the top position. King, Sr. led through lap twenty-one and while he was out front, third place starter Chad Brachmann and eighth place starter Rex King, Jr. were fighting door handle to door handle for the second position. Brachman was able to take the lead away from King, Sr. on lap twenty-two and despite several challenges from Rex King, Jr. was able to cruise to his third feature win in a row and his fourth of the season.

Finishing second behind Brachmann was Rex King Jr. followed by Garrett Krummert, Rex King, Sr. and Paul Kot. Rounding out the top ten was Brad Rapp, Steve Barr, Jim Rasey, Dave Murdick and Rick Regalski. Heat races were run by Rex King, Sr., Rex King, Jr. and Garrett Krummert.

The next event for the BRP Modified Tour will be a double header weekend on Friday, August 6th at Lernerville Speedway and then they will head up the road to Michaels Mercer Raceway Park on Saturday, August 7th for the running of the Michaels Memorial event that will pay $5,000 to win.

Feature Finish: Chad Brachmann, Rex King, Jr., Garrett Krummert, Rex King, Sr., Paul Kot, Brad Rapp, Steve Barr, Jim Rasey, Dave Murdick, Rick Regalski, Jimmy Holden, Steve Slater, JR McGinley, Mark Frankhouser, Eric Gabany, Shawn Kozar, Randy Chronister, Rodney Beltz, Kevin Green, Nathan McDowell.

By: Pam Baker

July 15, 2021…Marble, PA……….Chad Brachman keeps adding to the win column with the BRP Modiifed Tour racing series in 2021. Brachmann made the tow from North Tonawanda, NY to the Expo Speedway on Thursday night and picked up his third feature win in five events.

There were 22 cars on hand for the race that was held at Expo Speedway during the Trumbull County Fair and bringing the field to the drop of Kyle Hanshaw’s green flag was Dave Murdick and Steve Slater. Murdick jumped into the lead going into the first turn of the twenty-five lap event and as the first lap was being completed the only caution flag of the race waved for point leader going into the event, Garrett Krummert and Chris Haines. Both drivers left the track unable to return.

On the restart Murdick once again took charge of the lead with Jim Rasey and Slater close behind. Brachmann who started sixth in the feature was making his way towards the front and by lap six had settled into third behind Murdick and Rasey. The next lap Brachmann made the pass on Rasey and set his sights on the leader. Lapped traffic started to play a role around the thirteenth lap and on lap fourteen, Brachmann made the winning pass on Murdick and never looked back. Brachmann then stretched his lead out over Murdick by half a track and went on to get his third win of the season. With this win, Brachmann took over the point lead from Krummert.

Murdick had a great run finishing second with Rasey coming home third. Rex King, Sr. who started eighth finished fourth with twelfth starter Rex King, Jr. fifth. Rounding out the top ten were Steve Slater, Rick Regalski, Brad Rapp, JR McGinley and John Mollick. Heats were won by Krummert, Brachmann and Rex King, Sr.

Saturday night the Ralph Quarterson Memorial Race for the BRP Modified Tour was canceled due to heavy rains that hit the area on Saturday. This event has been rescheduled for Saturday, September 18th.

Coming up Friday night July 23rd the BRP Modified Tour will make their first of two appearances at Thunder Mountain Speedway in Brookville, PA.

Feature Finish: Chad Brachmann, Dave Murdick, Jim Rasey, Rex King, Sr., Rex King, Jr., Steve Slater, Rick Regalski, Brad Rapp, JR McGinley, John Mollick, Eric Gabany, Steve Barr, Nathan McDowell, Mark Frankhouser, Mike Stine, Shawn Kozar, Randy Chronister, Kevin Green, Garrett Krummert, Chris Haines, Dillon Barr, DNS: Rodney Beltz.

by: Pam Baker

Marble, PA …….7/10/21….On a beautiful night in Ohio, Sharon Speedway hosted the BRP Modified Tour racing series on Saturday night for the running of the 13th Annual Lou Blaney Memorial event.

There were thirty-four cars entered in the pit area for this special event and through the redraw Chas Wolbert and New York invader, Kyle Inman led the twenty-six car field to the drop of the green flag. Wolbert got the jump at the drop of the green flag and led the opening lap before Inman took the lead away on lap two.

Inman had opened his lead over Wolbert, Greg Martin and Kevin Hoffman by half a track by lap eight and started to get into lapped traffic by lap ten. A caution flag on lap nineteen for Wolbert who was running second at the time stopped the action. Under yellow Greg Martin suffered a right rear flat tire sending him to the pit area, but he was able to return to the tail of the field. On the restart it was Inman with Chad Brachmann who had worked his way to the front from his eleventh starting position, leading the group to the green once again. A couple of quick cautions allowed Brachmann the opportunity to get the lead on restart and he set sail ahead of the rest of the field.

On lap thirty-two Brachmann held a half track lead over Inman, Rex King, Jr., Jeremiah Shingledecker and Brad Rapp. Brachmann went on to pick up his BRP Modified Tour feature win of the young season and his first Lou Blaney Memorial victory.

Finishing second was Kyle Inman followed by Rex King, Jr., Jeremiah Shingledecker, and Rex King, Sr. Rounding out the top ten were Brad Rapp, Kyle Fink who had to run the B-Main and started twenty-second finished seventh. Brian Swartzlander finished eighth with Garrett Krummert ninth and Greg Martin coming from the rear after his flat to finish tenth.

Heat races were won by Chas Wolbert, Garrett Krummert, Rex King, Jr., and Dave Murdick. The B-Main was won by Rick Regalski.After only four events the battle for the point lead is very tight as Garrett Krummert and Rex King, Jr. are tied with 186 points and Chad Brachmann sits close in second only one point behind the duo with 185 points.

Our next BRP Modified Tour event will take place on Thursday, July 15th at Expo Speedway and then turn around and travel to Michaels Mercer Raceway on Saturday, July 17th with the running of the Ralph Quarterson Memorial event that pays $3,300 to win.

Feature Finish: Chad Brachmann, Kyle Inman, Rex King, Jr., Jeremiah Shingledecker, Rex King, Sr., Brad Rapp, Kyle Fink, Brian Swartzlander, Garrett Krummert, Greg Martin, Dave Murdick, Dave Murdick, Jim Rasey, Eric Gabany, Mike Dougherty, Paul Kot, Rick Regalski, Ray Bliss, Chas Wolbert, JR McGinley, Steve Slater, Mark Frankhouser, Kevin Hoffman, Chris Rudolph, John Mollick, Colton Walters, Todd English, DNQ: Dillon Barr, Shawn Fleeger, Greg Porter, Rodney Beltz, Nathen McDowell, DNS: Rob Kristyak, Steve Barr, Shawn Kozar

By:

Pam Baker

Marble, PA….6/5/2021….The original race for the season at Hummingbird Speedway was rained out on May 29th due to cold, rainy weather, but the make-up event brought sunny blue skies and warm temperatures. Garrett Krummert showed the rest of the field what it is like to have a great car on a beautifully prepared race track as he picked up the feature win from the sixth starting position.

By luck of the redraw on the front straightaway in front of the fans at Hummingbird Speedway, Dave Murdick and Rex King, Jr. brought the twenty-car field around to the drop of the green flag. Murdick was able to get the lead coming off the fourth turn on the first lap. A caution after lap two was completed for a spin in turn four that collected Steve Slater, JR McGinley, Steve Barr and Nathan McDowell regrouped the field for the restart. Rex King, Jr. was on his game and took the lead away on lap three before the caution flew once again for Paul Kot who came to a stop on the back stretch after losing his brakes.

When the race resumed King was the leader and Krummert made the pass on Murdick for second. This duo raced side by side for several laps before Krummert was able to make a sweeping pass coming off of turn three to get the lead on lap fourteen.

Meanwhile while this was taking place, Brad Rapp who started in fifth was moving to the front and took over third place on the fourteen lap. He then began the real battle for second position with King, Jr. and even though lapped traffic started to play an important role, kept his cool and took second away on lap twenty-four.

Once Krummert was out front, he cruised to an easy victory over Brad Rapp who had his best race with the BRP Modified Tour in quite some time. Rex King, Jr. finished third with Rex King, Sr. fourth and Chad Brachmann rounded out the top five. Heat races were won by Rex King, Jr., Chad Brachmann and Brad Rapp.

Coming up next on the BRP Modified Tour schedule will be Bedford Speedway on Sunday, June 13th and then the Rick Hall Memorial Race will be next on Saturday, June 19th at Michaels Mercer Raceway.

Feature Finish: Garrett Krummert, Brad Rapp, Rex King, Jr., Rex King, Sr., Chad Brachmann, Dave Murdick, Rick Regalski, Tony Pangrazio, Kyle Fink, Mike Dougherty, Chris Rudolph, Shawn Kozar, Mark Frankhouser, John Venuto, Rodney Beltz, Steve Slater, Nathan McDowell, Paul Kot, JR McGinley, Steve Barr, Eric Gabany – DNS

BY SHAWN WOOD

Middlebourne, WV, May 1, 2021….. – Chad Brachmann made the long tow from Sandborn, N.Y. pay off on Saturday night when he held off a hard-charging Garrett Krummert over the middle stages of the 35-lap feature to record the $3,000 win and his first BRP Modified Tour triumph of 2021 at the Tyler County Speedway.

By luck of the draw, Brachmann would start on the pole for the feature but it would be outside pole sitter Brad Rapp getting the jump into turn one and taking the lead.

Rapp would lead the first seven circuits before Brachmann took the lead in a wild, three-wide battle on the front stretch coming to the line. “It got dicey for a few laps,” Brachmann said of the battle for the lead. “The preferred line was the outside line and Brad was running it until he bobbled.”

On the lap five restart, Rapp continued to lead the field until turn two when Brachmann drove under Rapp and lead on the backstretch while Krummert pulled alongside Rapp on the backstretch. Brachman would go high in turn three, opening the door for Rapp and Krummert to get under him and that’s when Brachmann turned his car hard and came down the banking to make it a three-car battle for the lead with Brachmann on the low side, Krummert in the middle and Rapp on the outside with King Jr. following Krummert’s tire tracks.

Brachmann led briefly at the line while Rapp took the outside line and Krummert went low. As the four cars entered the first turn, Rapp would spin out on his own to bring out the caution just as Brachmann had made the pass on Krummert for the lead on the low side of the first and second turns. “The key to making that pass was when they (Rapp and Krummert) slid up in front of me, I knew I to turn hard to turn the car inside to get a run-down off the banking,” Brachmann said. “You have to take any opportunity that you can when you have a small little bull ring like that.”

Brachmann would spend the next segment of the race holding off Krummert until he was able to get his car to the high side and open up his lead in the late stages of the race. Brachmann’s night almost came to end with under 10 to go when he got squeezed up into the front stretch wall by a lapped car, but was able to continue on and not lose any momentum or his lead over Krummert. “I was worried that it was going to do damage to the car, but I kind of glanced off the guardrail. It was a lot closer than I would have liked,” Bachmann added.

Brachman is the sixth different winner in eight races for the BRP Modified Tour at the quarter-mile track. It was Brachmann’s seventh win with the Tour which ties him for ninth on the all-time win list with Jim Rasey. Krummert would hold on to finish second with Eric Gabany, JR McGinley, and Kyle Fink rounding out the top five. Sixth through 10th were Rex King Sr., Rapp, Steve Barr, Rick Regalski, and Jim Rasey.

Heats for the 25 big block modifieds were won by Dave Murdick, McGinley, and Krummert.

Friday night’s event at Ohio Valley Speedway in Washington, West Virginia, was canceled due to wet grounds. The BRP Modified Tour returns to action on Saturday, May 29 at Hummingbird Speedway.

FINISH: Chad Brachmann, Garrett Krummert, Rex King Jr., Eric Gabany, JR McGinley, Kyle Fink, Rex King Sr., Brad Rapp, Steve Barr, Rick Regalski, Jim Rasey, Tony Pangrazio, Paul Kot, Mike Turner, Mark Frankhouser, Chris Rudolph, Tom Glenn, Dillon Barr, Rodney Beltz, Shawn Kozar, Steve Slater, Nathan McDowell, John Venuto, Mike Dougherty, Dave Murdick.

By: Pam Baker

Marble, PA…..3/28/2021………. Rex King, Jr. became the first winner for the BRP Modified Tour racing series for 2021. A beautiful evening was on tap for March with temperatures in the 60’s and the racing action was great for the Chiller Thriller held at Michaels Mercer Raceway.

There were 29 drivers registered in the pit area for the first of seventeen races on the BRP Modified Tour schedule. By the top 12 redraw, Brad Rapp and Rex King, Jr. brought the 27 car starting field to the drop of the green flag. On the initial start, Gale Ruth, Sr. came to a stop in turn four to bring out the caution before a lap could be completed. On the second start a melee of cars came together in turn two bringing out the second caution. A third start found Jim Rasey stopping on the front stretch to bring out the third caution.

According to BRP rules after the third caution the field goes single file the rest of the race and once this happened a clean start took place with Rex King, Jr. jumping out into the lead. The race went green for seven laps with King, Jr. in the lead and Garrett Krummert trying everything to get by King, Jr. A caution flag on lap seven for Paul Kot brought the field together once again. On the restart, King, Jr. once took command but Krummert was hot on his rear bumper and once the leaders got into lapped traffic on lap fourteen the race between King, Jr. and Krummert really heated up.

Rex King, Jr. was able to keep his cool and total control of his car and was able to lead until lap twenty-one when the caution flew once again for debris on the track. Another restart found King, Jr. once again in the lead and with five to go the caution flag flew for the last time for Brad Rapp who spun on the front stretch. The final restart saw King, Jr. in control and went the final five laps to get his first win of the season. King, Jr. picked up where he left off last season with the BRP Modified Tour as he captured the season finale last year at Hummingbird Speedway and now has his first win under his belt for 2021.

The final finish saw Rex King, Jr. ahead of Garrett Krummert, Justin Haers, Chad Brachmann, and Erick Rudolph. Heat races were won by Haers, Krummert and Dave Murdick.

The BRP will have a month off before their next race which will be held in a two-day weekend in West Virginia at Ohio Valley Speedway on April 30th and Tyler County Speedway on May 1st.

Feature Finish: Rex King, Jr., Garrett Krummert, Justin Haers, Chad Bachmann, Erick Rudolph, Rex King, Sr., Dave Murdick, Rick Regalski, Greg Martin, Kyle Fink, Brad Rapp, Eric Gabany, Tom Glenn, Mark Frankhouser, Steve Barr, Shawn Kozar, Marshall Hurd, James Sweeting, Jim Rasey, John Venuto, Paul Kot, Jeremiah Shingledecker, Tony Pangrazio, Brian Sadler, Curt Bish, Jr., Rodney Beltz, Gale Ruth, Sr., Kevin Green – DNS; Steve Slater – DNS

Hummingbird Speedway fans were given to the chance to see the top 19 drivers that had perfect attendance do a reverse draw for the 2021X Bicknell chassis, sponsored by Pete Bicknell, Randy Williamson and Bob Slack of Bicknell Racing Products out of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It came down to the final two of Rex King, Jr. and Rodney Beltz and Rodney Beltz ended up the winner of the brand new chassis. This chassis was worth approximately $5,600.

BY: Pam Baker

September 5, 2020……Marble, PA….. Rex King, Jr. had a flawless night for the first time to ever race at the 1/3 mile clay oval at Hummingbird Speedway, winning his heat race, the feature and the 2020 BRP Modified Tour Championship title.

There were 29 BRP Modifieds filling the crowded pit area at Hummingbird Speedway for the first ever visit to the track. Before the feature ever started, the fans were given to the chance to see the top 19 drivers that had perfect attendance do a reverse draw for the 2021X Bicknell chassis, sponsored by Pete Bicknell, Randy Williamson and Bob Slack of Bicknell Racing Products out of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It came down to the final two of Rex King, Jr. and Rodney Beltz and Rodney Beltz ended up the winner of the brand new chassis. This chassis was worth approximately $5,600.

The 26 car starting field of ground pounding Modifieds took to the speedway for their 35-lap feature event with Garrett Krummert and Rex King, Jr. by the luck of the redraw that also took place in front of the crowd at Hummingbird Speedway on the front row. Rex King, Jr. jumped out into the lead at the drop of the green flag and the first caution flag waved after the completion of lap one when Dillon Barr got into the outside guardrail in turn two.

On the restart, King, Jr. once again got the jump over Krummert and brought the field around with Krummert in second, Chad Brachmann third and Chris Rudolph fourth. A couple caution periods slowed the action, but King, Jr. used lapped traffic successfully and by the end of the feature had a 10 car length lead over second place Brachmann. Rex King, Sr. who started seventh worked his way into third over Krummert on the twenty-eighth lap and last weeks winner at Tri City Raceway Park, Jim Rasey advanced from his ninth starting position into fifth by the end.

At the checkers, Rex King, Jr. won over Chad Brachmann, Rex King, Sr., Garrett Krummert and Jim Rasey. Paul Kot came from the eleventh starting position to finish sixth over Ryan Susice, Chris Rudolph, Phil Vigneri, III and Kyle Fink.

Heats were won by Dave Murdick, Garrett Krummert, Rex King, Jr. and Jim Rasey. The B-Main was won by JR McGinley. Brad Rapp was sidelined from the nights activities with ignition problems.

Rex King, Jr. also picked up his fourth BRP Modified Tour Championship and his third Championship in a row. He collected championship titles in 2014, 2018, 2019 and now in 2020. Unofficially Rex King, Jr. won with 438 points, a 19 point difference from second place Garrett Krummert with 419 points. Third in the points went to Rex King, Sr. with 416 and fourth was Jim Rasey with 413 points. Fifth in points went to Chad Brachmann with 396 points. Sixth through tenth in points went to Rick Regalski, Dave Murdick, Paul Kot, Brad Rapp and Phil Vigneri, III.

The 2020 BRP Modified Tour Racing Series has now come to a close, and we would like to thank all our drivers, fans and sponsors for having the best season that we could despite everything that is going in the world this year. We will not be having a banquet this year, due to the COVID -19 restrictions that are in place right now, but we will send the drivers their point fund money the first part of November. The point fund will be determined once we determine the total of the money we have collected this season from our races and our wonderful sponsors.

The BRP Modified Tour will be starting our 24th season in 2021 and are working on plans to make our 25th season in 2022 on our biggest and best seasons ever. We hope this world gets back to somewhat normal, and that our 2021 season will be a good for us. We have started negotiations with race tracks for 2021 and as soon as we have commitments from speedways we will pass the word on to you through emails, Facebook and our website .

Thank you so very much to everyone, drivers, race tracks, sponsors and our loyal fans that made this crazy season a successful one, and Congratulations to our 2020 Season Champion Rex King, Jr.

Feature Finish: Rex King, Jr., Chad Brachmann, Rex King, Sr., Garrett Krummert, Jim Rasey, Paul Kot, Ryan Susice, Chris Rudolph, Phil Vigneri, III, Kyle Fink, Tom Glenn, JR McGinley, Shawn Kozar, Mark Frankhouser, Steve Slater, Greg Martin, Rick Reglaksi, Jeremiah Shingledecker, Kevin Hoffman, Jeff Schaffer, Jr., Skip Moore, Dave Murdick, Eric Gabany, Travis Shingledecker, Dillon Barr, Steve Barr DNQ: Rodney Beltz, Ryan Riffe, DNS: Brad Rapp

RANSOMVILLE, NY (August 11, 2020) – The continued extension of Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order number 202.32, which prohibits spectators at auto racing events, has forced Ransomville Speedway management to announce the cancellation of its 2020 racing season. The order, which has been continually extended for the past two months, was extended recently to August 29. With so few scheduled events remaining on the schedule after that date, and with the unlikely scenario Cuomo will not extend his order yet again, the speedway is forced to make this decision.

Sadly, like many other businesses throughout the state of New York, the speedway was ready to open effectively in late June when the Governor’s Phase 4 rollout was to begin. Phase 4 was to include low-risk outdoor activities and entertainment but it was not to be.

“Like many other tracks and businesses across the state, we waited patiently in the spring for phase 4 to begin and used that time to develop the appropriate safeguards at the track to be CDC compliant,” said general manager Jenn Martin, “We have been prepared to open with a safe environment for our racing family for two months, unfortunately, the Governor’s ‘phase 4’ appears to be little more than fiction.”

Ransomville Speedway is one of approximately 50% of the motorsports facilities in the state that has not hosted an event in 2020. Several tracks have opened for a limited number of events with varying success. While Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order that was released on June 1 permits racing without fans, it simply was not appealing to most New York State tracks, including Ransomville.

“Hosting successful events is dependent on three major components – participants, fans and sponsorships. It is challenging to successfully operate when fans aren’t permitted and sponsorships are so dependent on crowds,” said Martin. “Short tracks like ours need all things to work in unison to be successful. Plus racing at Ransomville is just not complete without all the excited fans joining us every Friday Night. It just wouldn’t be the same”

Track Management would like to thank all the competitors, fans, sponsors, officials and staff for their patience, understanding and support during this time of uncertainty. Most of all, for all to remain healthy and safe as the COVID-19 pandemic begins to wind down. Speedway management will begin planning for the 2021 racing season, with announcements to be released as they become available.

REPRINTED COUTESY OF RANSOMVILLE SPEEDWAY WEBSITE